Personal Injury Lawsuit Archives

A personal injury lawsuit occurs when one party is injured financially or physically as the result of the negligence of another party. Personal injury lawsuits are governed under “tort law”. A tort is simply the legal term for the act of someone or something causing injury to another person or thing. The purpose of tort law is to establish responsibility to the party responsible for causing the harm. A successful personal injury lawsuit is intended to provide compensation to the injured party and discourage the continuation of the behavior causing the injury.

Usually the person directly injured is the one to file the lawsuit but there are certain cases where an individual may file the personal injury lawsuit of behalf of a loved one. These circumstances may include medical negligence or wrongful death.

In order for a personal injury lawsuit to be successful there must exist both liability and damages. Liability is usually the more difficult to establish. The injured party must prove that the party charged with the lawsuit should bear a legal responsibility for the injury incurred. The damages represent the loss suffered on account of the claimed injury.

Liability is most often argued under the bases of negligence or strict liability. Negligence can be established by showing that the defendant, or accused party, caused the injury by failure to prevent it. Negligence personal injury lawsuits include slip and fall lawsuits and reckless driver lawsuits. Strict liability is used in defective product lawsuits. Strict liability can be established by proving that the injury occurred while the product was being used as intended. Most personal injury lawsuits are settled before reaching a courtroom.

The most import limit on a plaintiff’s personal injury claim is the statue of limitations. The statute of limitations requires the injured party to sue the responsible party within a certain amount of time. This amount of time varies from state to state. If the plaintiff misses this deadline the lawsuit will be forever barred and the defendant will never be held accountable. For this reason it is important to file your claim as soon as possible after the injury has occurred.